Bridging the Gap

Resources for Faith Formation in the Home Through out the Liturgical Year

ADVENT

1. Advent Calendar

Activities - Home Made - Involve Ritual

2. Ornaments for the Christmas Tree/Jesse Tree.

3. Ornaments related to Christmas carols.

4. Gift, made from suggested need list for a couple of families.

5. Wrapped gift, to place under Giving Tree and food boxes.

1. Make copies of the Advent story from Godly Play for families and tell the story each day.

2. Make sure every family has a nativity set (child friendly) with the story, and suggestions for how to set it up.

3. Read a Christmas story each night together. (Provide list)

4. Learn a Christmas carol each evening.

5. Set up Holy space at home. Use liturgical colors, Bible, BCP, candle, symbol of season.

1. Nightly, after dinner, read Scripture that corresponds to Jesse Tree. Then, children hand Jesse Tree symbols.

2. On fridge (or other surface) create Road to Jerusalem, have characters to Jerusalem.

3. Reading and reflecting on the story, nightly. The communication between parent and child is crucial, growing together in faith.

4. Setting manger and crèche, slowly more Mary and Joseph toward manger in chronological order. Don’t add Jesus until Christmas.

5. Birthday party for Jesus – with a cake!

1. Family devotional, guides for family, Jesse Tree program.

2. Make felt symbols for Jesse Tree (take branches from garden and spray paint).

3. Family light Advent wreath in church, say prayer and meaning of candle.

4. Family chooses a family in need. Various programs and purchase or make a gift for that family for Christmas.

5. Family unwraps a book.

Bridging the Gap

Resources for Faith Formation in the Home Through out the Liturgical Year

EPIPHANY

1. Storytelling of gifts of the Wise men and blessing of gifts or toys.

2. Epiphany - Liturgy of the Light – use Christ candle read verse from the bible related to the light.

3. Visit a Planetarium (see websites)

4. House blessing – make a Kings Cake – hide 3 coins or jellybeans.

5. Make fortune cookies at midnight.

6. Plan a “first night” party – ice skating, storytelling, stargazing.

1. Make a crown for everyone in the house to wear at dinner.

2. Eat pancakes for dinner on Shrove Tuesday (at end).

3. Have a prayer jar. Spend sometime writing family prayers, put prayers is jar to say each evening.

4. Treasure sharing night. Choose something to give away of their own. Collect all and take them to a shelter.

5. See #5 Advent.

1. Make a “King Cake” for Epiphany, a celebration with a child who gets piece “king” with the power to make royal proclamation.

2. 3 Kings treasure hunt.

3. Read about and/or converse with a family that celebrates Epiphany to learn about their customs (ie: Greek Orthodox).

4. Talk with children about Jesus as a baby (though we know nothing) with some info from Gospel of Thomas.

5. Discuss the gifts of the Magi and discuss how we, as the Magi did, can bring the good news of Jesus into the world.

6. Cans collected weekly at home for the poor to be collected Christmas Day.

1. Kings Cake tradition in home

2. Special Epiphany blessing “Christ is the Light of the world”.

3. Let your light shine.

4. Oak Epiphany tree in parish hall holds different light symbols with take home candle – ponder “What is your light?” How did you share your Light?

5. Family members observing 12 days of Christmas with small gifts for each of 12 days.

6. Observe St. Nicholas Day in your home by putting shoes out…receive gold coins.

Bridging the Gap

Resources for Faith Formation in the Home Through out the Liturgical Year

LENT

1. Mardi Gras Party

2. Bury Alleluia (Banner or Prayer Card)

3. Plant seeds

4. Mission boxes

5. Butterfly starter kit

6. Palm crosses to make

7. Make hot cross buns

8. Make pretzels

1. Make an anglican rosary. Send home beads and instructions.

2. Large # of marbles or pebbles, large bowl, each member of family chooses a pebble each for something to let go of, did for someone, or will take on, tell story and place in bowl.

3. Choose one night a week, give up TV etc., and play family games.

4. Take on a service project as a family.

5. See #5 Advent.

1. Discuss why we have Lent and why we give something up in order to take up something to bring us closer to God.

2. Lenten devotion – nightly reading and reflection.

3. Select a family outreach project for the family to do.

4. Discuss with family the reason for the season – use bareness at home, bringing out wooden cross, continue and question the secularization (bunny & chocolates) of Easter

5. Bury Alleluia cards in box in yard, exhume box at Easter!

1. Basket with 40 different prayers to use during Lent.

2. Family calendar – many available – for Lent – activity each day – see one from PBF w/relief (at 815).

3. A box – Lenten night box.

4. Vine – filled with a grape for each day – good deed you did.

5. Alms box in the home.

6. Making pretzels at home, give to others.

Each year symbol has been made at church with supper and hymn sing to take home. Over the years the family is assembling the symbols at home

Bridging the Gap

Resources for Faith Formation in the Home Through out the Liturgical Year

EASTER

1. Treasure or scavenger hunt that has eggs with the Easter story.

2. Help deliver Easter Lily to shut-ins.

3. Invite a new family to have a fresh look of bread together.

4. Invite a family to breakfast and go to church together.

1. Plastic eggs filled, put Bible verse inside. For older kids make it a treasure hunt for finding the next egg.

2. Plant something indoors or out as a family, when it grows give thanks to God.

3. Learn hymn such as “There is a green hill far away.”

4. Choose a Bible verse and memorize it.

5. See #5 Advent.

1. Sculpt or mold a tomb setting.

2. Walk around yard and reflect on ways resurrection is shown in nature or find magazine photos.

3. Go bowling and reflect philosophically on the resurrection symbolism inherent in the pins going down and then reappearing. When all the pins are gone, it’s an empty tomb.

4. Resurrection scavenger hunt.

5. Discussing ‘resurrection eggs’ or symbolism of eggs.

1. Plant a tree.

2. Force bulbs.

3. Plastic Easter egg includes symbols, sent home, see ‘Resurrection Eggs’.

4. Bake Easter bread and take to a neighbor.

5. Make mosaic cross out of crushed colored Easter eggs.

6. See Godly play’s ‘Faces of X’ for different faces of Christ.

7. See Madeleine L’Engle’s The Glorious Impossible.

Bridging the Gap

Resources for Faith Formation in the Home Through out the Liturgical Year

PENTECOST

1. Make windmills/pin wheels.

2. Make bubbles.

3. Make a kite using a garbage bag and put a tail on it (see kite website).

4. Have a birthday party/decorate for the church.

5. collect for the “peanut butter” parade (pantry).

6. Make instruments that make noise of wind (rattlely streamers) etc.

1. Make birthday cake/cupcakes for the church with red, orange, etc. icing.

2. Choose something red to wear for whole day.

3. Start a family journal (written or typed), tell about the birthday of each person, write down and discuss how each is a child of God.

4. Make an origami to put in holy space. (send instructions home)

5. See #5 Advent.

1. Gifts of the Spirit.

2. Doves, doves, doves.

3. All Saints Day.

1. Take home red flame with a gift of the spirit.

2. Make a wind sock.

3. Discuss when you “Feel the Holy Spirit.”

4. Have a birthday cake for church at home (red velvet).

5. Serve everything red for dinner.

6. Fly a kite (the spirit blowing where it will).

1. Candle lighting/changing the light at dinner time.

2. Decorated box for Alms/coins in home.

3. Decide as a family commitment to an outreach endeavor.

4. Plant a tree.

5. Give a book to children’s library in honor of a birthday or anniversary.

6. Collect gifts for new baby or baby to be baptized.

7. Create cards for Easter, St. Valentine’s Day etc.